(201) Magazine Blogs

Thursday, March 31, 2011

The Rangers have won four of five from the Islanders but coach John Tortorella warned his team the Islanders, as spoilers, would love nothing more than further denting the Rangers’ playoff chances.

Tortorella also said the 20 missed shots in last night’s 1-0 loss at Buffalo is a problem that can’t be repeated tonight.

“At least for last night’s game, that was a big problem,” Tortorella said. “I think we had 22 missed shots and when I break down the tapes, six or seven of those shots that were shot wide turned into a scoring chance for Buffalo or at least offensive zone pressure for them. Artie (Anisimov) had a couple in the first period. I think we have still defended well but we didn’t get away with getting points. The fast few games, we haven’t scored and we defended well and we found way to get points. Hopefully we’ll continue to defend properly and have the puck more offensively and control territory a little bit.”

To sound like a broken record, the Rangers have just three goals in their last four games (2-1-1).

In an effort to get some more production, Tortorella has tweaked his lines slightly, moving Sean Avery, who played hard in Buffalo to Brian Boyle’s line while putting Ruslan Fedotenko, who lost ice time in the third period last night, to Erik Christensen’s line.

Henrik Lundqvist (33-25-5, 2.22 GAA) will make his career high 22nd straight start.

For the Islanders, former Rangers first-rounder Al Montoya (8-4-4, 2.35 GAA) will make his second start against the Rangers since the Islanders acquired him from the Coyotes. Montoya was pulled in the second period of the Rangers’ 6-3 win on March 15.

The Rangers recalled goalie Cam Talbot as a precaution from Connecticut but he will not dress tonight as Henrik Lundqvist’s right knee is good enough to allow him to make his career-high 22nd consecutive start. Chad Johnson will dress as Lundqvist’s backup.

Meanwhile, Mats Zuccarello will be back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch the past two games with Wojtek Wolski being a healthy scratch for the second time as a Ranger. He was also scratched on March 15 against the Islanders.

“Looking for some offense, don’t think I’ve gotten a bunch of it out of Woolly,” coach John Tortorella said. “It’s the same thing, there’s a couple of guys we’re kind of alternating in and out of there. Wools didn’t get a whole bunch of ice time last night. But we’re going try Zuc tonight and see where we go. I don’t want to use disappointing (for Wolski). I’m hoping there’s a realization that there’s going to be a process here one way or the other. Again, he hasn’t been awful, we think he’s a very talented player. It’s just being more involved along with his talent.”

Wolski has gone 14 games without a goal and eight games without a point. He played 7:43 in last night’s 1-0 loss at Buffalo, his lowest ice time since joining the Rangers.
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Despite a testy coach John Tortorella inexplicably chastising the media for asking about Henrik Lundqvist’s health, the franchise goalie himself cast some doubt as to whether he’d be able to play tomorrow against the Islanders.

Video replays clearly showed that Lundqvist was hit square on the right knee by defenseman Chris Butler’s second period at 19:35 of the second period. But Lundqvist would neither confirm nor deny that when asked and, with a laugh, admitted “per orders, from upstairs,” he couldn’t really talk about it.

“I feel pretty good,” said Lundqvist, acknowledging he did get treatment after the game. But then he said, “My goal is to play tomorrow.”

Here’s the exchange with Tortorella.

“Oh, he’s fine. You guys. I tell you,” said Tortorella, with the replay that Lundqvist, who is typically at his stall waiting to talk to the media, was not around at first. “He probably doesn’t want to talk to you.”

If Lundqvist’s knee stiffens or if he is otherwise unable to play, Chad Johnson would presumably get the start against the Islanders.
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Meanwhile, as the seventh-place Rangers are playing the eighth-place Sabres, the ninth-place Hurricanes will be hosting the sixth-place Canadiens, also at 7.
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So at some point after Sabres coach Lindy Ruff indicated to the media that Ryan Miller would start start, the team determined that their franchise goalie would miss tonight’s game with what the Sabres are terming an upper-body injury.

It’s believed Miller may have injured a shoulder making a save in last night’s 4-3 loss to the Maple Leafs.

Jhonas Enroth will instead start for the Sabres with Patrick Lalime dressing as the backup.

Enroth, 22, is 5-2-1 with a 2.77 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage in eight games this season. That includes stopping 25 shots in the Sabres’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 11.

Enroth is also the first goalie in NHL history to record each of his first three wins in a shootout. He’s been recalled by the Sabres four times this season.
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The Rangers’ lineup and, presumably, the combinations will be the same for tonight’s game against the Sabres, meaning that Mats Zuccarello will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game and Matt Gilroy will not dress for the third game in a row.

The Rangers conducted an optional morning skate here at the HSBC Arena and 16 players were on the ice. Rookie center Derek Stepan, who began his NHL career with a hat trick in the Rangers’ season-opening 6-3 win at Buffalo, was among them but he admitted while that game is special to him, he really didn’t remember much about the arena or the visiting dressing room.

“It really doesn’t feel that different,” Stepan said. “It’s pretty cool what happened in that first game. But I’m trying not to think about it.”

Of course, that was somewhat difficult with the media surrounding his stall in three waves.

“I get a little nervous before every game but not really to the extent of the first game,” Stepan said. “But I think I have that every year. The first game, you’re excited to play again. Now, we’re in a playoff run. It’s two different types of games.”
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Watched some of the Sabres’ 4-3 loss to the Maple Leafs in Toronto last night and here’s what a I saw: the Sabres made it too easy for the Maple Leafs to get through the neutral zone and into Buffalo’s end. Too many odd-man rushes, too little defense on Buffalo’s part. The natural inclination is to say that shouldn’t be the case tonight, that an angrier Sabres’ squad will tighten up defensively in a must-win game from their standpoint, not necessarily because they need to pass the Rangers but because they need to hold off the Hurricanes.

But will the Sabres be able to muster that effort in the second game of a back-to-back set after such an emotional loss to a huge rival in a game that the Maple Leafs and their fans celebrated as keeping their season alive? That is the crucial question tonight. Honestly, from a Rangers’ standpoint, I’d be somewhat shocked if there wasn’t a carryover in intensity from Saturday’s 1-0 win at Boston. Between Henrik Lundqvist and Ryan Miller, first team to two tonight might win.

One more thing from a Sabres’ standpoint, this marks the third time in four games against the Rangers this season they are completing a back-to-back set while the Rangers are coming in with fresh legs. The Rangers opened their season with a 6-3 win here in Buffalo after the Sabres played their season opener the night before. And the Rangers beat the Sabres, 3-2, in overtime at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 11 after the Sabres had beaten the Devils in a shootout at The Rock the previous evening.

But even if they do, Lundqvist, who will make his 21st straight start, isn’t sure whether he would want a game off before the postseason began.

“I don’t know,” Lundqvist said. “Sometimes, when you’re playing, you’re in rhythm and then it feels like you have to start over. I see the good and the bad. Hopefully, it will happen and we clinch before the last game.”

Because the Hurricanes beat the Capitals, 3-2, in a shootout last night, the possibility of the Rangers clinching with a win Thursday against the Islanders is gone. The Hurricanes host the Canadiens tonight.

Here’s some more preview info:
Rangers at Sabres
Tonight, 7 o’clock
TV: MSG2
Radio: WNYM-AM 970
Storyline: The Rangers (41-30-5) have won two of three from the Sabres, including a 6-3 win in the season-opener at Buffalo in which C Derek Stepan (20 goals, 21 assists) made his NHL debut with a hat trick. The Rangers’ penalty kill is six for six over the past four games. The Sabres, who lost 4-3 at Toronto last night, are 8-8-3 in the second game of back to back sets.
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

In case you missed it in today’s paper or online, here’s my On The Beat take on why the Rangers might be for real.

Ryan Callahan was among the first Rangers to get on the ice this morning and he pronounced himself good to go for tomorrow night’s game against the Sabres, which the Rochester native also called the team’s “most important” so far this season.

Meanwhile, the Rangers signed free agent forward Tommy Grant, 24, out of Alaska-Anchorage. Grant has already made his debut with the Whale with two assists. See below for the Rangers’ release.

Of course, what everybody is waiting for is for the Rangers’ to announce the signings of first-rounder Chris Kreider, who just completed his sophomore season at Boston College, returning from a jaw injury for their NCAA loss in St. Louis, and Michigan’s Carl Hagelin, the Rangers’ sixth-round pick in 2007. Kreider’s stance, when I spoke to him shortly after it became clear that the Rangers wanted to sign him last summer, was that he would wait until his college season was over to start mulling his options. Last summer, the Rangers convinced Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh to sign and their success may make coming out now more enticing for Kreider, who has exciting talent that keeps progressing.

Back to the current Rangers, obviously a huge game tonight when the Maple Leafs host the Sabres. The Rangers “magic number” to clinch is any combination of eight points gained by the Rangers or lost by the Hurricanes. So, for instance, if Carolina lost tonight in Washington and Wednesday against the Canadiens and the Rangers beat the Sabres and then beat the Islanders on Thursday, the Rangers would clinch a playoff spot. Also of note tonight, the Canadiens host the Thrashers:
5. Lightning, 75 games played, 40-24-11, 91 points
6. Canadiens, 76, 40-29-7, 87, lost 3 in a row
7. Rangers, 76, 41-30-5, 87
8. Sabres, 75, 38-28-9, 85, won 3——————————————-
9. Hurricanes, 75, 35-30-10, 80
10. Maple Leafs, 76, 34-32-10, 78
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Monday, March 28, 2011

At one point or another this season, I’m pretty sure almost all the Rangers have had a maintenance day off from practice, just to rest up or let the bruises heal a tad. Today was one of those days for Ryan Callahan, actually two, considering the Rangers did not skate yesterday. So there should be no concerns about the Rangers’ future captain missing Wednesday’s crucial (aren’t they all?) game at Buffalo.

Without Callahan, the Rangers spent the second portion of their practice working on the power play (which thrilled backup goalie Chad Johnson immensely as he said it was as close to game action as he’s had in a while, plus he was a monster, stopping just about every shot).

Coach John Tortorella said Boyle was with the first unit only because Callahan was out, so, in your scorecard, just insert Callahan in that spot for Wednesday’s game.

After the second session ended, the newly-signed 6-foot-8 Quebec juniors goalie Jason Missiaen was on the ice with goalie coach Benoit Allaire and several players (including, 5-6 Mats Zuccarello, who was trying to screen Missiaen and 6-7 Brian Boyle, who I kidded with that they finally found a goalie taller than him). Allaire wanted to get a look at Missiaen today and Missiaen will report to Connecticut (AHL) tomorrow as the Whale will carry three goalies down the stretch. In the dressing room, Henrik Lundqvist, after speaking to the media, said he wanted to come out and see what a 6-8 goalie looked like.

Tortorella, meanwhile, was asked several questions about the team’s road success this season compared to its home play, which has been better recently. The Rangers have 23 road victories and can tie the franchise record, set in 1993-94, Wednesday at Buffalo.

“It’s subtle changes,” Tortorella said. “You don’t have to put on a show (on the road). There are a few distractions at home - family, kids - which are very important. But it’s different when you’re just with the boys on the road.”
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About

ANDREW GROSS covers the New York Rangers for The Record and Herald News, having joined the North Jersey Media Group in November 2007. Gross also covered the Rangers and New York Jets, as well as St. John’s basketball and Army football, for Gannett Newspapers and The Journal News (N.Y.). He graduated from Syracuse University in 1989 with a degree in newspaper journalism.